U.S. patent application number 14/078117 was filed with the patent office on 2014-06-12 for card control device and control card of computer system having card control device.
This patent application is currently assigned to HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to YI-GUO CHIU.
Application Number | 20140164671 14/078117 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50882289 |
Filed Date | 2014-06-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140164671 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHIU; YI-GUO |
June 12, 2014 |
CARD CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL CARD OF COMPUTER SYSTEM HAVING CARD
CONTROL DEVICE
Abstract
A computer system includes at least one mother board and a
number of control cards monitored by the motherboard via an
I.sup.2C bus. Each control card has a unique ID. The computer
system connects one of the control cards to the I.sup.2C bus using
a card control device installed in each of the control cards to
monitor each of the control cards via the single I.sup.2C bus.
Inventors: |
CHIU; YI-GUO; (New Taipei,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD. |
New Taipei |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO.,
LTD.
New Taipei
TW
|
Family ID: |
50882289 |
Appl. No.: |
14/078117 |
Filed: |
November 12, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
710/316 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 13/4022 20130101;
G06F 13/4291 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
710/316 |
International
Class: |
G06F 13/40 20060101
G06F013/40 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 6, 2012 |
TW |
101145772 |
Claims
1. A card control device of a control card of a computer system,
the control card having a unique device identification (ID) and
being monitored by at least one motherboard of the computer system
via an inter-integrated circuit (I.sup.2C) bus, the card control
device comprising: a plurality of I.sup.2C components monitoring
real-time data of the control card; a bus switch unit connected to
the at least one motherboard via the I.sup.2C bus receiving a
command comprising a device ID sent from the at least one
motherboard, and connecting or disconnecting the control card to
the I.sup.2C bus according to the device ID included in the
command; an address storage unit storing bus addresses of the
I.sup.2C components of the control card; a data reading unit
connected to the address storage unit reading monitored data of
each of the I.sup.2C components at real-time according to the bus
address of each of the I.sup.2C components stored in the address
storage unit; and a temporary data storage connected to the data
reading unit temporarily storing the read data, wherein the stored
data is acquired by the at least one motherboard via the I.sup.2C
bus to monitor the control card.
2. The card control device according to claim 1, further comprising
a format conversion unit connected to the bus switch unit to
connect to the I.sup.2C bus, wherein the format conversion unit is
configured to convert a format of data sent from the I.sup.2C bus
into a particular format supported by the card control device, and
to convert data of the card control device to be transmitted via
the I.sup.2C bus into a format supported by the I.sup.2C bus.
3. The card control device according to claim 2, wherein the
temporary data storage is connected to the format conversion unit
to transmit the data stored in the temporary data storage to the at
least one motherboard via the I.sup.2C bus after the format of the
data is converted by the format conversion unit.
4. The card control device according to claim 1, further comprising
a threshold value storage unit, a data comparison unit, and an
error recording unit, wherein: the threshold value storage unit is
configured to store a plurality of threshold values respectively
corresponding to the monitored data of the I.sup.2C components; the
data comparison unit is connected to the threshold value storage
unit and is configured to compare the monitored data of each of the
I.sup.2C components stored in the temporary data storage with a
corresponding threshold value stored in the threshold value storage
unit to determine whether the monitored data exceeds the
corresponding threshold value; and the error recording unit is
connected to the data comparison unit and is configured to record
the monitored data exceeding the corresponding threshold value, and
to transmit the recorded data to the at least one motherboard via
the I.sup.2C bus.
5. The card control device according to claim 4, further comprising
an input/output (I/O) control unit connected to the data comparison
unit and is configured to turn on, turn off, or reset a power
circuit of the control card.
6. The card control device according to claim 5, wherein when the
monitored data of an I.sup.2C component of the control card exceeds
a corresponding threshold value, the I/O control unit turns off or
resets the power circuit of the corresponding control card to
protect the control card.
7. The card control device according to claim 1, wherein the bus
switch unit comprises a switch and a switch controller connected to
the I.sup.2C bus to receive the command sent from the at least one
motherboard; when the device ID included in the command is the same
as the unique ID of the control card, the switch controller turns
on the switch to connect the control card to the I.sup.2C bus; when
the device ID included in the command is different from the unique
ID of the control card, the switch controller turns off the switch
to disconnect the control card from the I.sup.2C bus.
8. A control card of a computer system connected to at least one
motherboard of the computer system, the control card having a
unique device identification (ID) and comprising a card control
device, the card control device comprising: a plurality of I.sup.2C
components monitoring real-time data of the control card; a bus
switch unit connected to the at least one motherboard via the
I.sup.2C bus receiving a command comprising a device ID sent from
the at least one motherboard, and connecting or disconnecting the
control card to the I.sup.2C bus according to the device ID
included in the command; an address storage unit storing bus
addresses of the I.sup.2C components of the control card; a data
reading unit connected to the address storage unit reading
monitored data of each of the I.sup.2C components at real-time
according to the bus address of each of the I.sup.2C components
stored in the address storage unit; and a temporary data storage
connected to the data reading unit temporarily storing the read
data, wherein the stored data is acquired by the at least one
motherboard via the I.sup.2C bus to monitor the control card.
9. The control card according to claim 8, wherein the card control
device further comprises a format conversion unit connected to the
bus switch unit to connect to the I.sup.2C bus, the format
conversion unit is configured to convert a format of data sent from
the I.sup.2C bus into a particular format supported by the card
control device, and to convert data of the card control device to
be transmitted via the I.sup.2C bus into a format supported by the
I.sup.2C bus.
10. The control card according to claim 9, wherein the temporary
data storage is connected to the format conversion unit to transmit
the data stored in the temporary data storage to the at least one
motherboard via the I.sup.2C bus after the format of the data is
converted by the format conversion unit.
11. The control card according to claim 8, wherein the card control
device further comprises a threshold value storage unit, a data
comparison unit, and an error recording unit; the threshold value
storage unit is configured to store a plurality of threshold values
respectively corresponding to the monitored data of the I.sup.2C
components; the data comparison unit is connected to the threshold
value storage unit and is configured to compare the monitored data
of each of the I.sup.2C components stored in the temporary data
storage with a corresponding threshold value stored in the
threshold value storage unit to determine whether the monitored
data exceeds the corresponding threshold value; and the error
recording unit is connected to the data comparison unit and is
configured to record the monitored data exceeding the corresponding
threshold value, and to transmit the recorded data to the at least
one motherboard via the I.sup.2C bus.
12. The control card according to claim 11, wherein the card
control device further comprises an input/output (I/O) control unit
connected to the data comparison unit and is configured to turn on,
turn off, or reset a power circuit of the control card.
13. The control card according to claim 12, wherein when the
monitored data of an I.sup.2C component of the control card exceeds
a corresponding threshold value, the I/O control unit turns off or
resets the power circuit of the corresponding control card to
protect the control card.
14. The control card according to claim 8, wherein the bus switch
unit comprises a switch and a switch controller connected to the
I.sup.2C bus to receive the command sent from the at least one
motherboard; when the device ID included in the command is the same
as the unique ID of the control card, the switch controller turns
on the switch to connect the control card to the I.sup.2C bus; when
the device ID included in the command is different from the unique
ID of the control card, the switch controller turns off the switch
to disconnect the control card from the I.sup.2C bus.
15. A computer system, comprising: at least one mother board and a
plurality of control cards monitored by the at least one
motherboard via an inter integrated circuit (I.sup.2C) bus, each
control card having a unique identification (ID) and comprising: a
plurality of I.sup.2C components monitoring real-time data of a
corresponding control card; a bus switch unit connected to the at
least one motherboard via the I.sup.2C bus receiving a command
comprising a device ID sent from the at least one motherboard, and
connecting or disconnecting the corresponding control card to the
I.sup.2C bus according to the device ID included in the command; an
address storage unit storing bus addresses of the I.sup.2C
components of the corresponding control card; a data reading unit
connected to the address storage unit reading monitored data of
each of the I.sup.2C components at real-time according to the bus
address of each of the I.sup.2C components stored in the address
storage unit; and a temporary data storage connected to the data
reading unit temporarily storing the read data, wherein the stored
data is acquired by the at least one motherboard via the I.sup.2C
bus to monitoring the corresponding control card.
16. The computer system according to claim 15, wherein the card
control device further comprises a format conversion unit connected
to the bus switch unit to communicate with the I.sup.2C bus via the
bus switch unit; the format conversion unit is configured to
convert a format of data sent from the I.sup.2C bus into a
particular format supported by the corresponding card control
device, and to convert data of the corresponding card control
device to be transmitted via the I.sup.2C bus into a format
supported by the I.sup.2C bus.
17. The computer system according to claim 15, wherein the card
control device further comprises a threshold value storage unit, a
data comparison unit, and an error recording unit; the threshold
value storage unit is configured to store a plurality of threshold
values, each threshold value corresponding to the monitored data of
one of the I.sup.2C components; the data comparison unit is
connected to the threshold value storage unit and is configured to
compare the monitored data of each of the I.sup.2C components
stored in the temporary data storage with a corresponding threshold
value stored in the threshold value storage unit to determine
whether the monitored data exceeds the corresponding threshold
value; and the error recording unit is connected to the data
comparison unit and is configured to record the monitored data
exceeding the corresponding threshold value, and to transmit the
recorded data to the at least one motherboard via the I.sup.2C
bus.
18. The computer system according to claim 15, wherein the bus
switch unit comprises a switch and a switch controller connected to
the I.sup.2C bus to receive the command sent from the at least one
motherboard; when the device ID included in the command is the same
as the unique ID of the corresponding control card, the switch
controller turns on the switch to connect the corresponding control
card to the I.sup.2C bus; when the device ID included in the
command is different from the unique ID of the corresponding
control card, the switch controller turns off the switch to
disconnect the corresponding control card from the I.sup.2C
bus.
19. The computer system according to claim 15, wherein the
plurality of control cards comprise an audio card, a graphic card,
and network card, of the computer system.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatuses
for controlling control cards of computer systems, and particularly
to a card control device and a control card of a computer system
having the card control device.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Motherboards of computers often have a plurality of control
cards, such as an audio card, a graphics card, and a network card,
installed. To control the control cards of the motherboard, a
plurality of inter-integrated circuits (I.sup.2C) buses are used to
connect the control cards to the motherboard. In addition, a CPU of
the motherboard reads data of each control card in real-time via
the I.sup.2C buses to monitor a working state of the control cards,
which consumes a lot of CPU resources. Therefore, there is room for
improvement in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a computer system including at least one
motherboard and a plurality of control cards.
[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a card
control device used in each of the control cards of FIG. 1.
[0007] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a bus switch unit
used to connect each of the control cards to an I.sup.2C bus.
[0008] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a plurality of
I.sup.2C components included in a control card of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] The disclosure, including the accompanying drawings, is
illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation. It
should be noted that references to "an" or "one" embodiment in this
disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such
references mean "at least one."
[0010] FIG. 1 shows a computer system 100 including at least one
motherboard 10 and a plurality of control cards 11. Each of the
control cards 11 is installed on the motherboard 10. In the
embodiment, the control cards 11 may include an audio card, a
graphics card, and a network card of the computer system 100, for
example. Each control card 11 is received in a corresponding card
slot of the motherboard 10. The motherboard 10 is connected to each
of the control cards 11 via an inter-integrated circuit (I.sup.2C)
bus. The motherboard 10 monitors each of the control cards 11 via
the I.sup.2C bus. Each of the control cards 11 includes a card
control device 20 and has a unique device identification (ID). In
one embodiment, the unique device ID of each control card 11 is a
slot ID of a corresponding slot where the control card 11 is
inserted into.
[0011] FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of the card control
device 20 of the control cards 11. In one embodiment, the card
control device 20 includes a bus switch unit 201, a format
conversion unit 202, an input/output (I/O) control unit 203, an
address storage unit 204, a threshold value storage unit 205, a
data reading unit 206, a data comparison unit 207, a temporary data
storage 208, and an error recording unit 209. The components
201-209 may directly or indirectly connect with each other to
exchange data or signal information. The card device 20 may be an
integrated chip (IC) having the above mentioned components 201-209.
The units described herein may be implemented as hardware, such as
integrated chips (IC) having software programs to provide
predetermined functions.
[0012] The bus switch unit 201 is connected to the motherboard 10
via the I.sup.2C bus. The bus switch unit 201 receives a command
comprising a device ID sent from the motherboard 10. The bus switch
unit 201 connects a corresponding control card 11 to the I.sup.2C
bus or disconnects the corresponding control card 11 from the
I.sup.2C bus according to the device ID included in the command.
For example, if the device ID included in the command is the same
as the unique device ID of the corresponding control card 11, the
bus switch unit 201 connects the corresponding control card 11 to
the I.sup.2C bus or keeps the corresponding control card 11
connected to the I.sup.2C bus. Otherwise, if the device ID included
in the command is different from the unique device ID of the
corresponding control card 11, the bus switch unit 201 disconnects
the corresponding control card 11 from the I.sup.2C bus or keeps
the corresponding control card 11 disconnected from the I.sup.2C
bus. In this manner, only one of the control cards 11 is selected
to connect to the motherboard 10 via the I.sup.2C bus at a time.
When a control card 11 is disconnected from the I.sup.2C bus, the
corresponding bus switch unit 201 remains connected to the I.sup.2C
bus to receive the commands sent from the motherboard 10.
[0013] In FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the bus switch unit 201 of
each control card 11 is connected to the motherboard 10 via the
I.sup.2C bus. The bus switch unit 201 includes a switch 210 and a
switch controller 220. When the switch 210 is turned on according
to the command, the corresponding control card 11 electrically
connects to the I.sup.2C bus to connect to the motherboard 10. The
switch controller 220 is connected to the I.sup.2C bus to receive
the command sent from the motherboard 10. When the command is
received from the motherboard 10, the switch controller 220 turns
on or turns off the switch 210 according to the device ID included
in the command. The unique device ID of each control card 11 is
prestored in the switch controller 220. For example, the switch
controller 220 first compares the device ID included in the command
with the unique device ID of the corresponding control card 11. If
the device ID included in the command is the same as the unique
device ID of the corresponding control card 11, the switch
controller 220 turns on the switch 210 to connect the corresponding
control card 11 to the I.sup.2C bus. Otherwise, if the device ID
included in the command is different from the unique device ID of
the corresponding control card 11, the switch controller 220 turns
off the switch 210 to disconnect the corresponding control card 11
from the I.sup.2C bus. Thus, the motherboard 10 is connected to
only one control card 11 via the I.sup.2C bus at a time.
[0014] The format conversion unit 202 is connected to the bus
switch unit 201 to connect to the I.sup.2C bus. The format
conversion unit 202 converts a format of data sent from the
I.sup.2C bus into a particular format supported by the card control
device 20 for storing the converted data into the card control
device 20. When the card control device 20 transmits data to the
I.sup.2C bus, the format conversion unit 202 further converts the
data into a format supported by the I.sup.2C bus.
[0015] The address storage unit 204 is connected to the data
reading unit 206 and stores bus addresses of I.sup.2C components of
the corresponding control card 11. Referring to FIG. 4, in one
embodiment, the I.sup.2C components of the corresponding control
card 11 include a temperature sensor 110, a voltage sensor 111, and
an I/O control component 112. Accordingly, the bus addresses of the
I.sup.2C components include an I.sup.2C bus address of the
temperature sensor 110, an I.sup.2C bus address of the voltage
sensor 111, and an I.sup.2C bus address of the I/O control
component 112.
[0016] The data reading unit 206 is connected between the address
storage unit 204 and the temporary data storage 208. The data
reading unit 206 reads monitored data (e.g., sensed temperature,
voltage, and current) of each of the I.sup.2C components in
real-time according to the bus address of each of the I.sup.2C
components, and temporarily stores the read data in the temporary
data storage 208. The temporary data storage 208 is further
connected to the format conversion unit 202. The format conversion
unit 202 transmits the stored data to the motherboard 10 after
converting the format of the stored data. Thus, the motherboard 10
monitors a working state of the corresponding control card
according to the received data from the I.sup.2C bus.
[0017] The threshold value storage unit 205 is connected to the I/O
control unit 203 and is configured to store a plurality of
threshold values corresponding to the monitored data of the
I.sup.2C components. The threshold values are predetermined by a
user and are input via an external I/O device connected to the I/O
control unit 203. When the monitored data of an I.sup.2C component
exceeds a corresponding threshold value, the corresponding control
card 11 is determined to be in an abnormal state.
[0018] The data comparison unit 207 is connected to the temporary
data storage 208, the threshold value storage unit 205, and the
error recording unit 209. The data comparison unit 207 compares the
monitored data of each of the I.sup.2C components stored in the
temporary data storage 208 with the corresponding threshold value
stored in the threshold value storage unit 205 to determine whether
the monitored data exceeds the corresponding threshold value. The
error recording unit 209 records the monitored data exceeding the
corresponding threshold value and transmits the recorded monitored
data to the motherboard 10 via the I.sup.2C bus.
[0019] The I/O control unit 203 is connected to the data comparison
unit 207 and is configured to turn on, turn off, or reset a power
circuit of the corresponding control card 11. In the embodiment,
when the corresponding control card 11 is determined to be in the
abnormal state, the I/O control unit 203 turns off or resets the
power circuit of the corresponding control card 11 to protect the
corresponding control card 11.
[0020] In other embodiments, the bus switch unit 201 is connected
to the I/O control unit 203. The I/O control unit 203 receives the
command sent from the motherboard 10 and turns on or turns off the
switch 210 of the bus switch unit 201 according to the device
[0021] ID included in the command. For example, if the device ID
included in the command is the same as the unique device ID of the
corresponding control card 11, the I/O control unit 203 sends a
first control signal (e.g., "0000") to the bus switch unit 201 to
turn on the switch 210. Otherwise, if the device ID included in the
command is different from the unique device ID of the corresponding
control card 11, the I/O control unit 203 sends a second control
signal (e.g., "0001") to the bus switch unit 201 to turn off the
switch 210.
[0022] As described above, the computer system 100 can monitor a
plurality of control cards 11 using a single I.sup.2C bus. Thus, a
required space on the motherboard 10 for I.sup.2C buses is
significantly reduced. Further, since each control card 11, rather
than a CPU, monitors its own data and feeds back the monitored data
to the motherboard 10, a workload of the CPU is also reduced.
[0023] Although certain embodiments of the present disclosure have
been specifically described, the present disclosure is not to be
construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or
modifications may be made to the present disclosure without
departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.
* * * * *